CONTENT - A solid set of four battle scenarios for four 4th level D&D 3.5 characters, set in the Underdark, and usable with both the RPG and the D&D Miniatures game. There's a small amount of background information and lore provided for each of the scenarios, and adventure hooks and further adventure suggestions for each of them as well. The NPCs are fleshed out well (Amandrucul is particularly nasty), and color text is well written. While it is short (17 pages), this product could open up a lot of opportunities for further adventures in the Underdark.

PRINT - The print-on-demand product is very good looking - the color cover is vibrant and not grainy, and the printing and artwork on the interior pages is clear even with the gray background graphics. The only issue with the print edition is the color maps, which look great, but do not come out to the proper scale for miniature use, and the binding prevents making color copies to scale up to the correct size. I'd recommend getting the PDF/print bundle and printing the map pages at a bigger scale in order to use them.

A great little M&M supplement for any GMs who want inspiration for a holiday themed game on the campy side. The character illustration and backstory are very good. I can already imagine this fellow kidnapping the mayor and holding him hostage (tied up in garland, no doubt) until someone can promise that there will be snow on Christmas Eve...

The next goody under the angry treant stuck in the little pot in our living room is Holiday Heroes & Horrors, a holiday and arctic themed supplement for the Pathfinder RPG from the wonderfully named Octopus Apocalypse. Packed in the 18 pages are details of a new arctic region called “White Hell,” rules for snow blindness, a new item, item quality, and item material, two new magic items, three new spells, two new races, and a bunch of new monsters to top it all off.

As with many holiday themed products, the material and illustrations are a bit whimsical, but if you’re looking to bring some lighter fun to your Pathfinder games, then this would be three bucks well spent.

A wonderful Halloween-themed adventure for the excelled FirstFable RPG. This has the main elements of a well-written adventure for young people - options to help instead of fight, a non-linear story path, and opportunities for the players to shape the story in their own way. Pre-generated monster characters (ghost, vampire, werewolf, and zombie) are included, as well as rules for customizing each of these to make your own. The adventure itself is short (4 page sides) and an easy read, perfect for an impulse game when some young adventurers ask for something to do on the spot, and the end of the adventure includes a fill-in-the-blanks story to encourage players to recap their adventure with words and pictures.

A meaty, system-agnostic collection of methods and tips for worldbuilding, drawn from blog posts and feedback. I'm a sucker for any RPG product that helps improve the quality of play, and this one really delivers. In its 200 pages there are few illustrations and no gimmicks, just a whole lot of advice, ideas, and inspiration. This one is well worth the admission fee.

An impressive collection of inventive ideas for random generation, presented with an old-school look and charm. Just flipping through the book filled me with ideas for my next campaign ("Cult generator? Hmmm, maybe I should add a cult for them to encounter..."). and the adventure generators are fantastic for impromptu games. The premise may seem gimmicky but the execution isn't, and the author's true passion for OSR gaming really shows. I don't often give five stars for a product, but this one has definitely earned them.

The Ambient Environments soundscapes are quality recordings that combine sound and music into an audio atmosphere for your storytelling games. Each track is ten minutes long, with no fade in/out at the start or end, making them perfect for continuous looping. While reviewing this series, I played each track in the background and often didn't notice when it had started over. The sound levels are
compressed very well, which means that there will be very few distracting volume changes when you play these during a session. And at $1.99, the price is very reasonable.

The At the Mountains of Madness soundscape includes arctic wind, along with some spooky ambient music (some of it kind of backwards sounding, for greater effect). A very good mix of sound effects and evocative music. All of their soundscapes are very good, but this one actually made me start thinking about running something that I could use it in.

The Ambient Environments soundscapes are quality recordings that combine sound and music into an audio atmosphere for your storytelling games. Each track is ten minutes long, with no fade in/out at the start or end, making them perfect for continuous looping. While reviewing this series, I played each track in the background and often didn't notice when it had started over. The sound levels are compressed very well, which means that there will be very few distracting volume changes when you play these during a session. And at $1.49, the price is very reasonable.

The Foreign Marketplace soundscape includes a cacophany of shouting and chattering voices, coins jingling, animal noises (chickens, ducks, donkeys, and goats), blacksmithy sounds, shuffling feet, and much more. It's a great audio backdrop for most any marketplace scenario.

The Ambient Environments soundscapes are quality recordings that combine sound and music into an audio atmosphere for your storytelling games. Each track is ten minutes long, with no fade in/out at the start or end, making them perfect for continuous looping. While reviewing this series, I played each track in the background and often didn't notice when it had started over. The sound levels are compressed very well, which means that there will be very few distracting volume changes when you play these during a session. And at $1.49, the price is very reasonable.

Land of the Giants soundscape includes wind, native drums and other percussion, and some ambient background music. This track could be used for any outdoor scene that has grown tense and suspenseful (with or without the presence of giants).

The Ambient Environments soundscapes are quality recordings that combine sound and music into an audio atmosphere for your storytelling games. Each track is ten minutes long, with no fade in/out at the start or end, making them perfect for continuous looping. While reviewing this series, I played each track in the background and often didn't notice when it had started over. The sound levels are compressed very well, which means that there will be very few distracting volume changes when you play these during a session. And at $.99, the price is very reasonable.

The Hidden features suspenseful ambient music, (thrumming bass, swelling strings, distant and echo-ey piano melodies) for those times when the party is on the verge of making a terrible discovery. It sounds like it comes straight from the soundtrack of a Hollywood thriller. Moss would definitely think this one is "ruddy mysterious."

The Ambient Environments soundscapes are quality recordings that combine sound and music into an audio atmosphere for your storytelling games. Each track is ten minutes long, with no fade in/out at the start or end, making them perfect for continuous looping. While reviewing this series, I played each track in the background and often didn't notice when it had started over. The sound levels are compressed very well, which means that there will be very few distracting volume changes when you play these during a session. And at $1.49 each, the price is very reasonable.

The Dungeon Crawling soundscape features ambient music, a torch cracking and whooshing as it is moved around, water dripping, rats squeaking, distant growls and other "possible monster" noises. The "torch whooshes" can get a bit repetitive and distracting in this one, but otherwise the track works very well.

The Ambient Environments soundscapes are quality recordings that combine sound and music into an audio atmosphere for your storytelling games. Each track is ten minutes long, with no fade in/out at the start or end, making them perfect for continuous looping. While reviewing this series, I played each track in the background and often didn't notice when it had started over. The sound levels are
compressed very well, which means that there will be very few distracting volume changes when you play these during a session. And at $.99, the price is very reasonable.

The Druid Ceremony soundscape features birds singing, deep male chanting, melodic female singing, and drums. This track is actually pleasing enough to listen to as background music even when you're not running a game!

The Ambient Environments soundscapes are quality recordings that combine sound and music into an audio atmosphere for your storytelling games. Each track is ten minutes long, with no fade in/out at the start or end, making them perfect for continuous looping. While reviewing this series, I played each track in the background and often didn't notice when it had started over. The sound levels are compressed very well, which means that there will be very few distracting volume changes when you play these during a session. And at $1.49 each, the price is very reasonable.

Like the first Arctic Excursion soundscape, the second includes blustery wind, cracking ice, as well as loud splashes of ice falling into water. This track seems to have some suspenseful background music to it, but it is very subtle and non-distracting. I paired this track into a playlist with the first Arctic Excursion track, and they matched seamlessly.

The Ambient Environments soundscapes are quality recordings that combine sound and music into an audio atmosphere for your storytelling games. Each track is ten minutes long, with no fade in/out at the start or end, making them perfect for continuous looping. While reviewing this series, I played each track in the background and often didn't notice when it had started over. The sound levels are compressed very well, which means that there will be very few distracting volume changes when you play these during a session. And at $1.49 each, the price is very reasonable.

The Arctic Excursion soundscape includes blustery wind, cracking ice, rumbling of a potential avalanche. This track seems to have some suspenseful background music to it, but it is very subtle and non-distracting. I paired this track into a playlist with Arctic Excursion 2, and they matched seamlessly.

The Ambient Environments soundscapes are quality recordings that combine sound and music into an audio atmosphere for your storytelling games. Each track is ten minutes long, with no fade in/out at the start or end, making them perfect for continuous looping. While reviewing this series, I played each track in the background and often didn't notice when it had started over. The sound levels are
compressed very well, which means that there will be very few distracting volume changes when you play these during a session. And at $1.49 each, the price is very reasonable.

The Abandoned Research Facility soundscape includes bass rumbles of humming machines, dripping water, and distant echos and groans of moving metal, perfect for that excursion into a forgotten underground lab, steampunk factory, or even a derelict spaceship.